Luke 2

The chapter

Luke 2 is the Christmas chapter of Scripture — the fullest single account of the birth of Christ in the whole Bible. It begins with the decree of Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed, and ends with the twelve-year-old Christ found in the temple. In between: the manger, the angels, the shepherds, Simeon, Anna, and the return to Nazareth.

Who wrote it

The Gospel of Luke was written by Luke the physician, the companion of Paul (Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11; Philemon 24). Tradition holds that Luke received the details of the infancy narrative from Mary herself (see Luke 2:19 — 'But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart' — an insight only Mary could have contributed).

Historical and geographical context

The chapter is set in three named places: Bethlehem in Judaea (vv. 1-20), the temple at Jerusalem (vv. 22-38), and Nazareth of Galilee (vv. 39-52). The date is c. 6-4 BC, in the reign of Herod the Great, during a Roman census (the exact census being much debated; Luke names Cyrenius / Quirinius as governor of Syria).

Important biblical events

• Luke 2:1-5 (KJV) Caesar's decree; Joseph goes up from Nazareth to Bethlehem.
• Luke 2:6-7 (KJV) 'And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.'
• Luke 2:8-14 (KJV) The shepherds; the angel; the multitude of the heavenly host: 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'
• Luke 2:15-20 (KJV) The shepherds visit and make it known.
• Luke 2:21-24 (KJV) The circumcision on the eighth day; the presentation in the temple.
• Luke 2:25-35 (KJV) Simeon takes Him up in his arms and sings the Nunc dimittis: 'Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:'
• Luke 2:36-38 (KJV) Anna the prophetess speaks of Him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
• Luke 2:39-40 (KJV) The return to Nazareth; the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit.
• Luke 2:41-52 (KJV) The twelve-year-old Christ in the temple: 'wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?'

Christ-centred reading

Every scene of Luke 2 is Christological. The manger is His first altar. The swaddling clothes prefigure the linen of the tomb. The presentation fulfils the Torah. Simeon's Nunc dimittis is the first Christian dismissal — the first man to hold Christ was ready to die. The finding in the temple is His first recorded statement of divine sonship: 'my Father's business.'

In Christian tradition

• Luke 2:1-20 is proclaimed at the midnight Mass of Christmas in every Christian tradition.
• The Nunc dimittis (Luke 2:29-32) is sung at Compline every night in most Christian offices — it has been the Church's night prayer since the fifth century.
• The Presentation of the Lord (Candlemas, 2 February) is kept forty days after Christmas, following Luke 2:22-38 exactly.
• The Byzantine and Latin liturgies both include the Song of Simeon in daily prayer.

Connected People

• Christ Jesus — the child of the chapter.
• Mary — who kept and pondered these things.
• Joseph of Nazareth — the guardian.
• Simeon — 'the just man, and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel.'
• Anna the prophetess — the widow of great age in the temple.
• The shepherds — the first Christian congregation.

Connected Places

• Bethlehem — the place of birth.
• Nazareth — the place from and to which they travel.
• Jerusalem — the temple of the presentation and the finding.

Household application

Luke 2 is the household's Christmas reading. Read it aloud on Christmas Eve at the family table before any presents. Read it slowly. Let the children hear the shepherds and the angels once a year, in the same words the Church has read them for two thousand years.

Sing the Nunc dimittis at bedtime as a household night prayer. It teaches every child what a Christian death looks like: peaceful, in the arms of God, holding the promises.

Room connections

Where this entry meets the household in the wider house of CrossAIHub.

• Read (Library) — Read Luke 2 aloud on Christmas Eve — every household.
• Pray (Chapel) — Sing the Nunc dimittis at Compline (family bedtime).
• Family (Kitchen Table) — The chapter of the household table on Christmas Eve.
• Sing (Choir Room) — Sing 'Silent Night', 'While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night', 'Angels We Have Heard on High'.
• Learn (Workshop) — Study Luke's careful chronology and his infancy sources (probably from Mary).

Further reading

The whole of Luke 2 in the KJV.

Bede, Homilies on the Gospels (eighth century) — homilies on the infancy narrative.

The Byzantine Nunc dimittis prayer (fifth century onward).

Elsewhere in the Atlas

• Christ Jesus
• Mary, mother of Christ
• Bethlehem
• Nazareth
• Isaiah 53
• Luke — the evangelist who wrote it
• Return to the atrium — the Atlas's main room.